Motivación instrumental y logro en expresión oral en L2 de aprendices indonesios de inglés: Una encuesta
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17227/folios.60-20073Palabras clave:
otivación instrumental, segunda lengua/lengua extranjera (L2), estudiantes de departamentos no angloparlantes, rendimiento oral, encuestaResumen
El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar el nivel de motivación instrumental entre estudiantes universitarios indonesios que aprenden inglés como segunda lengua o lengua extranjera y examinó cómo esto impacta en los logros de expresión oral de los aprendices. Participaron 188 estudiantes de disciplinas no relacionadas con el inglés. A través de estadísticas descriptivas, el estudio encontró que los aprendices tenían un nivel generalmente alto de motivación instrumental. Los estudiantes mostraron altos niveles de motivación vinculados al éxito académico, vacaciones en el extranjero, auto-mejora y, notablemente, futuras oportunidades en sus campos. A pesar de esta tendencia general, su motivación para aprender inglés con el fin de ganar prestigio fue bastante baja. Mediante una regresión lineal bivariada, el estudio encontró además que la motivación instrumental de los aprendices apenas influía en su logro en expresión oral en L2, contribuyendo solo al 0.3% de la varianza. Estos hallazgos sugieren diversas implicaciones pedagógicas, subrayando la necesidad de estrategias motivacionales dirigidas en la educación lingüística. Se recomienda realizar más investigaciones para explorar estas dinámicas en diferentes contextos.
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Recibido: 9 de septiembre de 2023; Aceptado: 8 de febrero de 2024
Abstract
The present study aimed to assess the level of instrumental motivation among Indonesian university students learning English as a second or foreign language and examined how it impacts learners’ speaking achievements. Participants included 188 students majoring in non-English disciplines. Through descriptive statistics, the study found that learners had a generally high level of instrumental motivation. They reported high motivation levels linked to academic success, overseas vacations, self-improvement, and notably, future career prospects. Despite this general trend, their motivation to learn English to gain respect was rather low. Through a bivariate linear regression, the study further found that learners’ instrumental motivation barely influenced their L2 speaking achievement contributing to only 0.3% of the variance. These findings suggest nuanced pedagogical implications, underscoring the need for targeted motivational strategies in language education. Further research is recommended to explore these dynamics in different contexts.
Keywords:
instrumental motivation, second/foreign language (L2), learners from non-English departments, speaking achievement, survey.Resumen
El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar el nivel de motivación instrumental entre estudiantes universitarios indonesios que aprenden inglés como segunda lengua o lengua extranjera y examinó cómo esto impacta en los logros de expresión oral de los aprendices. Participaron 188 estudiantes de disciplinas no relacionadas con el inglés. A través de estadísticas descriptivas, el estudio encontró que los aprendices tenían un nivel generalmente alto de motivación instrumental. Los estudiantes mostraron altos niveles de motivación vinculados al éxito académico, vacaciones en el extranjero, auto-mejora y, notablemente, futuras oportunidades en sus campos. A pesar de esta tendencia general, su motivación para aprender inglés con el fin de ganar prestigio fue bastante baja. Mediante una regresión lineal bivariada, el estudio encontró además que la motivación instrumental de los aprendices apenas influía en su logro en expresión oral en L2, contribuyendo solo al 0.3% de la varianza. Estos hallazgos sugieren diversas implicaciones pedagógicas, subrayando la necesidad de estrategias motivacionales dirigidas en la educación lingüística. Se recomienda realizar más investigaciones para explorar estas dinámicas en diferentes contextos.
Palabras clave:
motivación instrumental, segunda lengua/lengua extranjera (L2), estudiantes de departamentos no angloparlantes, rendimiento oral, encuesta.Resumo
O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o nível de motivação instrumental entre estudantes universitários indonésios que aprendem inglês como segunda língua ou língua estrangeira e examinar como isso impacta os resultados dos aprendizes na fala. Os participantes incluíram 188 estudantes de disciplinas não relacionadas ao inglês. Através de estatísticas descritivas, o estudo descobriu que os aprendizes tinham um nível geralmente alto de motivação instrumental. Eles relataram altos níveis de motivação ligados ao sucesso acadêmico, férias no exterior, autoaperfeiçoamento e, notavelmente, perspectivas futuras de carreira. Apesar dessa tendência geral, a motivação deles para aprender inglês a fim de ganhar respeito foi bastante baixa. Por meio de uma regressão linear bivariada, o estudo também descobriu que a motivação instrumental dos aprendizes quase não influenciava seu desempenho na fala em L2, contribuindo com apenas 0.3% da variância. Esses achados sugerem diversas implicações pedagógicas na aquisição de línguas, destacando a necessidade de estratégias motivacionais direcionadas na educação linguística. Pesquisas futuras são recomendadas para explorar essas dinâmicas em diferentes contextos.
Palavras-chave:
motivação instrumental, segunda língua/estrangeira (L2), aprendizes de departamentos não anglófonos, desempenho na fala, pesquisa.Introduction
Motivation is considered a key factor of success in language learning. It plays a vital role in affecting the rate of success in second/foreign language (L2) learning (Dörnyei, 1998). Even someone with good language abilities cannot achieve goals without adequate motivation. L2 motivation studies were pioneered by Gardner and associates through their research studies in the Canadian context where French was learned as an L2 (Gardner & Lambert, 1959, 1972).
Among Gardner’s works, perhaps integrative and instrumental motivations are the concepts for which he is widely known in the motivation literature. Integrative motivation refers to a positive disposition towards native speakers’ community and the aspiration to interact with and perhaps even assimilate into their community (Gardner, 1985). Instrumental motivation, furthermore, refers to motivation associated with potential pragmatic gains of L2 proficiency, such as securing a good position or earning a higher salary (Gardner & MacIntyre, 1991). In this globalised world where English is used as an international language and is spoken by people from various backgrounds of first language (L1) and cultures (Matsuda & Friedrich, 2011), the utilitarian aspect of English may be more prevalent than the desire to be a part of native English speakers’ community. Hence, we believe that it is important to further investigate instrumental motivation in learning English as an L2.
Since the first publication of Gardner’s canon on motivation (Gardner & Lambert, 1959), studies on L2 motivation have been flourishing in various L2 contexts up to now. Such studies have been categorised into different perspectives based on the conceptualisations of motivation constructs: the social-psychological perspective, cognitive-situated perspective, process-oriented perspective, and socio-dynamic perspective (Dornyei & Ushioda, 2011). Gardner’s concept of instrumental motivation, the focus of the present study, alongside integrative motivation, is included in the socio psychological perspective. This suggests that L2
motivation is shaped by the social context of learning as well as attitudes and relations between different linguistic communities. Though several prominent authors have criticised the concept of instrumental motivation and introduced new motivation concepts deemed more relevant in today’s L2 learning situations globally (Dornyei, 2009; Dornyei & Ushioda, 2011; Taguchi et al., 2009), instrumental motivation is still widely popular until now.
Studies on instrumental motivation have been conducted in various L2 contexts in the Middle East as well as South and East Asia, for example in Saudi Arabia (Al-Oliemat, 2019), United Arab Emirates (Al-Ta’ani, 2018), Bangladesh (Rahman et al., 2021), China (Yu & Downing, 2012), and Taiwan (Chung, 2013). Yu and Downing (2012) involved 118 L2 learners of Chinese from Western and Asian countries. The study reported that Asian learners of Chinese reported a higher level of instrumental motivation than their Western learner counterparts, perhaps suggesting that Asian learners tend to be more interested in the pragmatic gain of L2 learning. A mixed-method study involving 365 Taiwanese high school learners of English by Chung (2013) found that learners were willing to attend cram school to learn English because they believed that it could contribute to gaining admission to their future universities. Involving 50 L2 learners of English in Dubai, a study by Al-Ta’ani (2018) reported learners had a high level of both integrative and instrumental motivation with the latter slightly surpassing the former. This finding was in line with a finding of a study involving 300 Bangladeshi high school learners of English by (Rahman et al., 2021). In Saudi Arabia, a study involving 108 female L2 learners by Al-Oliemat (2019) reported that though participants had a high level of instrumental motivation, it did not significantly correlate with their GPA in their English department.
Furthermore, studies on instrumental motivation also seem to flourish in Southeast Asia, for example in Thailand (Kitjaroonchai & Kitjaroonchai, 2012), the Philippines (Torres & Alieto, 2019), and Malaysia (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Hong & Ganapathy, 2017).
A study involving 137 Thai prospective teachers of English by Kitjaroonchai and Kitjaroonchai (2012) reported that learners’ instrumental motivation was higher than integrative one. Similar findings were also reported by subsequent studies in Malaysia (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Hong & Ganapathy, 2017). Hong and Ganapathy (2017) engaged twelve Malaysian secondary school learners. Azar and Tanggaraju (2020) involved 150 Malaysian prospective teachers of English. The similarity may further support the idea that Asian L2 learners tend to be instrumentally motivated rather than integratively. Furthermore, Kitjaroonchai and Kitjaroonchai (2012) also reported that learners’ instrumental motivation significantly and positively correlated with their GPA. Such a correlation contrasts with the findings from a later study by Al-Oliemat (2019) in Saudi Arabia. In the Philippines, Torres and Alieto (2019) found that items rEFLecting instrumental motivation were among the top five receiving the highest mean scores in their study involving twenty high school L2 learners.
Apart from those studies, studies on instrumental motivation have been carried out in Indonesia (Aspuri et al., 2019; Kholid & Supriyadi, 2019; Muslim et al., 2020; Noviana & Ayu, 2022; Siahaan et al., 2022; Sukri et al., 2021; Syafrizal & Maulina, 2019). A study by Sukri et al. (2021), involving 80 high school learners, found that male learners were more instrumentally motivated than their female counterparts. Involving 20 junior high school learners, Syafrizal and Maulina (2019) reported that learners’ instrumental motivation was not as high as their integrative one, a contrast compared to findings of several studies (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Hong & Ganapathy, 2017; Kitjaroonchai & Kitjaroonchai, 2012). This discrepancy could be partly attributed to the small number of participants involved. Learners’ high level of instrumental motivation was reported in several of those studies (Aspuri et al., 2019; Kholid & Supriyadi, 2019; Siahaan et al., 2022). Furthermore, a study involving prospective teachers of English by Noviana and Ayu (2022) identified that a promising future career became learners’ most prevalent motivation for studying English. Nonetheless, a mixed-methods study employing questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis involving 450 senior high school learners by Muslim et al. (2020) found that even if the participants reported a high motivation, they showed low investment. It was indicated by their low enthusiasm and poor language performance. This outcome suggests that expressed motivation does not necessarily lead to motivated actions.
Despite the contributions of the aforementioned studies, some aspects are worth further investigation, especially in the Indonesian L2 context. Many studies on instrumental motivation have involved L2 learners from English departments or prospective English teachers (Al-Oliemat, 2019; Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Kitjaroonchai & Kitjaroonchai, 2012; Noviana & Ayu, 2022; Siahaan et al., 2022) and junior and senior high schools (Hong & Ganapathy, 2017; Muslim et al., 2020; Torres & Alieto, 2019). Nonetheless, L2 learners from nonEnglish departments seem to be underrepresented in the plethora of instrumental motivation studies. In fact, in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context such as Indonesia, exposure to English outside L2 classrooms is very limited. In this case, learners’ motivation to find ways to practice and master the language could be a differentiating factor influencing their L2 achievement. Secondly, studies contemplating the possible interaction between learners’ instrumental motivation and their L2 achievement were quite rare. Two studies in Saudi Arabia and Thailand investigated prospective English teachers’ instrumental motivation and their GPA (Al-Oliemat, 2019; Kitjaroonchai & Kitjaroonchai, 2012). However, research involving learners from non-English departments has not been widely reported, at least in the Indonesian context. Furthermore, conducting an empirical study using learners’ achievement in their language class is crucial since L2 learning aims at achievement, meaning “attaining an adequate level of proficiency” (Moskovsky et al., 2016, p. 3). In this regard, among the four language skills, speaking skills may arguably be the most relevant and practical to be mastered by L2 learners from non-English departments, allowing them to make meaningful communications in English despite the respective disciplines on which they focus their study.
With the aforementioned rationales, the present study intends to answer the following research questions: First, to what extent is the level of instrumental motivation of Indonesian L2 learners of English? Second, does learners’ instrumental motivation influence their L2 speaking achievement?
Method
This study used a survey as the method of collecting data collection and paper-based questionnaires were being distributed. The decision to conduct a quantitative study was informed by several rationales. First, numerous studies on motivation across the years have been consulted quantitatively (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Glory & Subekti, 2022; Papi, 2010; Roshandel et al., 2018; Subekti, 2018; Yu, 2019, to name a few), clearly implying the popularity of the method among motivation researchers. Furthermore, many quantitative studies on learning motivation in the Indonesian L2 context only involved a limited number of participants (Muktianingsih & Azhar, 2021; Subekti, 2018; Sukri et al., 2021; Syafrizal & Maulina, 2019). Therefore Consequently, a quantitative study involving an ample number of Indonesian L2 learners may potentially offer new insights. Such findings could provide a general overview of instrumental motivation and its possible interaction with L2 achievement in the Indonesian context.
The convenience sampling method was employed in this study where the participants were recruited based on the easier access or conveniently available target participants (Dornyei, 2007; Gray, 2014). The participants of this study were 188 Indonesian L2 learners taking General English (ge) Course Level 2 at a private university in Java Island, Indonesia. 105 of the participants (55.9%) were female learners while 83 (44.1%) were male learners. They were aged 19 to 22 and came from eight different departments, as shown in Table 1.
For context, the GE Level 2 course was a non-credited matriculation course that all learners should take from non-English departments at the university. Depending on the results of their proficiency entrance test at the university, learners will be placed in one of three levels of GE, Levels 1, 2, and 3. On passing Level 3, they could take English for Specific Purposes classes, which were credited, at their respective departments. All the GE classes were integrated English classes. However, Level 1 had a heavy focus on grammar, Level 2 on speaking, and Level 3 on reading. Therefore, for the present study investigating the interaction between motivation and L2 speaking achievement, GE Level 2 was selected.
Next, the instrument of this study consisted of questionnaires on background information and instrumental motivation. The background questionnaire required information about the participants’ names (to match their questionnaire data and their grades later on), ages, and gender. The questionnaire on instrumental motivation was adapted from the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) (Gardner, 2004). Twelve items were adapted and translated into Indonesian and back-translated into English to ensure that the Indonesian translation was accurate and there was no change in meaning due to the translation process. An example of the items is “Studying English helps me to get a scholarship to study abroad.” The participants were required to choose one of five possible responses “Strongly Agree”, “Agree”, “Undecided”, “Disagree”, and “Strongly Disagree”. For a more thorough data presentation and analysis, the twelve items would be presented in three different themes: “learning English for academic success” (items 5, 8, 10, and 12), “learning English for future careers” (items 1, 2, and 9), and “learning English for respect, vacation, and self-improvement” (items 3, 4, 6, 7, and 11).
The data collection occurred during March 2023. The questionnaire data were recorded into SPSS 25. The responses to the items on instrumental motivation were recorded as follows: “Strongly Agree” equal to 5 points, “Agree” 4 points, “Undecided” 3 points, “Disagree” 2 points, and “Strongly Disagree” 1 point. Furthermore, the data on learners’ L2 speaking achievement were from learners’ oral presentation grades obtained from the assessing GE class lecturers. The grades ranged from 0-100 and were recorded according to the corresponding names of the participants.
Next, the recorded data were analysed as follows. To answer the first research question on the level of learners’ instrumental motivation, descriptive statistics were employed. The data were presented in the form of percentages, mean scores, and standard deviations. To answer the second research question on the interaction between learners’ instrumental motivation and their L2 speaking achievement, a bivariate linear regression analysis was conducted with motivation as the independent variable and achievement as the dependent one.
Results and Discussion
Results
Research Objective 1. Learners’ Level of Instrumental Motivation
The questionnaire items produced 0.85 and 0.86 for McDonald’s Omega and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, respectively, suggesting reliability. The mean score of the twelve items on instrumental motivation was 52.37, equivalent to an average mean score of 4.36, suggesting a high level of instrumental motivation among learners. To determine learners’ level of instrumental motivation, descriptive statistics was performed and the results are presented in percentages, mean scores, and standard deviations.
The detailed findings of learners’ responses on the first category “learning English for academic success” involving items 5, 8, 10, and 12, can be found in Table 2.
This is the overview of Table 2. Item 5 ‘Studying English enables me to be better in my further studies’ produced the highest mean score at 4.55. A total of 183 participants (87.3%) agreed with the statement. Item 12, “Studying English helps me to get a scholarship to study abroad” produced the second-highest mean score, at 4.37. 178 participants (97%) supported the statement. Item 10, “I am interested in learning English to pursue further study” produced a mean score of 4.22, with170 participants (91.5%) either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. Last, item 8, “I study English diligently because I want to achieve an accomplishment at university”, obtained a mean score of 3.94, the lowest in this category. Despite this, 160 participants (85.1%) supported the statement, still implying a high level of motivation, generally. These findings, overall, suggested that the participants generally had a high level of instrumental motivation regarding the pragmatic benefits of obtaining academic success.
The detailed results on the second category “learning English for future careers” involving items 1, 2, and 9 can be found in Table 3.
This is the overview of Table 3. Item 2, ‘I need English for my future career’ produced the highest mean score in this category, at 4.64. 186 participants (98%) agreed with the statement. Items 1 and 9 produced the same high mean score of 4.57. 184 participants (97.9%) agreed with the statement “Studying English enables me to get a dream job in the future” and 188 participants (100%) supported the statement “I study English diligently because it is important to communicate with foreign clients at work in the future.” From these data, it can be seen that learners’ instrumental motivation regarding the potential benefits of learning English for their future careers was particularly high.
Next, Table 4 presents the findings on the third category “learning English for respect, vacation, and self-improvement”, involving items 3, 4, 6, 7, and 11.
This is the overview of Table 4. A total of 188 participants (100%) supported item 7, “Studying English enables me to go travelling abroad”. This item produced the highest mean score in this category. Next, 185 participants (98.9%) agreed with item 3, “Studying English enables me to be a more knowledgeable person.” This item obtained a high mean score of 4.60. 187 participants (99.5%) either agreed or strongly agreed with item 6, “Studying English enables me to search for information and materials in English on the Internet.” This item produced a high mean score of 4.58. 173 participants (92%) supported item 11, “Learning English is important for making me to be an educated person.” This item obtained a relatively high mean score of 4.26. Lastly, item 4 “If I can speak in English, people will respect me” only obtained
support from 124 participants (66%). 64 participants (34%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement. It obtained a rather low mean score of 3.39. Generally, learners reported a high level of motivation regarding learning English for vacation and self-improvement. However, their motivation to learn English to gain respect was rather low.
Research Objective 2. Influence of Learners’ Instrumental Motivation on Their L2 Speaking Achievement
To find the influence of learners’ instrumental motivation on their L2 speaking achievement, a bivariate linear regression analysis was conducted with instrumental motivation as the independent variable and speaking grades as the dependent variable. The obtained data are presented in Table 5.
From Table 5, it can be seen that learners’ instrumental motivation barely influenced their L2 speaking achievement, β = -0.10, F (1, 186) = 0.58, p = 0.45. The R2 value is 0.003, indicating that learners’ instrumental motivation only affected 0.3% (less than 1 per cent) of the total variance in L2 speaking achievement. This suggested that, in the present study, instrumental motivation barely affected L2 achievement.
Discussion
Research Objective 1. Learners’ Level of Instrumental Motivation
The study revealed that learners generally reported a high level of instrumental motivation, aligning with the findings of several recent studies (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Kholid & Supriyadi, 2019; Ma et al., 2019; Torres & Alieto, 2019) which also found that their participants had a high level of instrumental motivation in learning English. For example, a mixed-methods study involving 126 Thai university learners of English by Ma et al. (2019) noted that participants were instrumentally motivated to learn English to be better equipped in the context of the Southeast Asian economic community. Similarly, Torres and Alieto (2019), studying 20 high school learners in the Philippines, found that the highest mean scores on the general learning motivation scale were attributed to instrumental reasons, suggesting instrumental motivation was the most prevalent among other constructs in their study. The similarity among these studies conducted in the Southeast Asian context may indicate that English learners in this region generally tend to show a strong instrumental motivation.
To facilitate a more detailed examination, the analyses of the responses to the twelve questionnaire items has been divided into three categories based on the questionnaire’s structure.
Learning English for Academic Success
This study identified a significant level of instrumental motivation associated with academic success.
This finding was similar to the findings of some previous studies (Al-Oliemat, 2019; Aspuri et al., 2019; Chung, 2013; Rahman et al., 2021). For instance, a qualitative study involving ten Indonesian learners of English by Aspuri et al. (2019) highlighted the participants’ strong beliefs on the role of mastering English in their present and future academic success. In line with that, a quantitative study involving 300 Bangladeshi learners of English by Rahman et al. (2021) found that the participants eager to learn English to facilitate their pursuit of higher education and obtain scholarships for studying abroad. Resonating with these perspectives, an earlier study involving 365 Taiwanese high school learners (Chung, 2013) revealed the majority of the participants believed that attending cram school to learn English was advantageous for achieving high scores on English tests and securing admission to prestigious universities. Collectively, these studies across Asia suggested that learners have a high regard for English as one of the keys to their academic success.
Learning English for Future Careers
This study reported that learners’ very high level of instrumental motivation was associated with pragmatic gain in their future careers. This result was in consistent with several studies in Asia (Aspuri et al., 2019; Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Kitjaroonchai & Kitjaroonchai, 2012; Mahendra et al., 2022; Siahaan et al., 2022; Sukri et al., 2021). A recent mixed-methods study involving 28 Indonesian prospective teachers of English by Siahaan et al. (2022) noted that five among ten interviewees mentioned that English would help them get good jobs and open a broaden opportunities to work outside Indonesia. Earlier, in Thailand, involving 137 Thai prospective teachers of English, Kitjaroonchai and Kitjaroonchai (2012) found that two questionnaire items rEFLecting instrumental motivation associated with ideal jobs and future careers obtained the highest mean scores among other items. This suggests learners’ strong beliefs on the importance of English for career success in the future. Similarly, subsequent studies in Malaysia (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020) and Indonesia (Noviana & Ayu, 2022) highlighted learners’ recognition of English as essential for securing good positions. Based on these observations, it can be inferred that L2 learners across these different con texts, regardless of their major, considered English as a way to expanding their career opportunities both locally and internationally.
Learning English for Respect, Vacation, and Self-improvement
This study determined that learners’ instrumental motivation associated with the ability to have overseas vacations and self-improvement was quite high. A study involving Saudi Arabian L2 learners by Khorsheed (2021) revealed that only 30.6% of the participants learned English for travelling abroad. In comparison, in the present study, all of the participants recognized the ability to travel abroad as a benefit of learning English. Though further investigations may be necessary, the differences could be attributed to cultural differences. In this case, the Indonesian participants may possess a more outward-looking perspective in their approach to learning English. Furthermore, as English is now used as an international language, it has emerged as lingua franca of countless educational platforms (Matsuda & Friedrich, 2011). Consequently, the majority of the participants considered the language important for their self-improvement such as obtaining information and gaining new knowledge.
Furthermore, the present study also revealed that learners’ instrumental motivation associated with gaining respect was rather low. A study in Indonesia also found that the potential of learning English to gain acknowledgement and respect was not very prevalent (Kholid & Supriyadi, 2019). The study included both learners from English and non-English departments, and reported that only 40.7% of learners from the English department and 36.4% of the participants from non-English departments agreed with the statement that indicated learning English to gain respect from others. The similarity may be in part due to the position of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia. Consequently, the use of English, in most parts of the country, is constrained to classroom settings.
Understandably, mastery of the language may not be directly noticeable by people around learners in daily interaction, thus the rather low relevance of learning English to gain immediate respect from people around learners.
Research Objective 2. Influence of Learners’ Instrumental Motivation on Their L2 Speaking Achievement
Using the bivariate linear regression formula, it was found that the participants’ instrumental motivation had minimal impact on their L2 speaking achievement. Though studies specifically examining the influence of instrumental motivation on L2 achievement were rather rare, studies investigating the association between L2 motivation and achievement have been available. Some of these investigations reported that motivation affected achievement (Fatimah et al., 2019; Hernández, 2006; Li & Pan, 2009). For example, in a rather old yet relevant publication, Hernández (2006) explored motivation in a Spanish L2 learning context and determined motivation to be correlated with achievement. Similarly, in English as L2 learning contexts, quantitative studies in Indonesia (Fatimah et al., 2019; Lamb, 2012) and China (Li & Pan, 2009) found significant relationships between motivation and English speaking scores. Moreover, two previous studies in Thailand and Saudi Arabia (Al-Oliemat, 2019; Kitjaroonchai & Kitjaroonchai, 2012) also reported that instrumental motivation impacted GPA, a construct that may indirectly relate to L2 achievement considering the participants were from English departments. Seen from these findings, the results of the present study diverge from the mainstream conclusions. Additionally, the outcomes of the present study, also appear in contrast with many prominent authors’ emphasis of the role of motivation as the driving force for learning (Dornyei, 2005; Dornyei & Ushioda, 2011; Ortega, 2009).
Nevertheless, the seemingly surprising findings may have a basis for reasons. While not directly addressing the concept of instrumental motivation, studies on motivation in Saudi Arabia (Moskovsky et al., 2016) and Indonesia (Subekti, 2018) explored the possible influence of motivation on learners’ actual L2 achievement. These studies produced results similar to the outcome of the present study. Moskovsky et al. (2016) found that learners’ motivation was not consistently associated with learners’ reading and writing test results. In Indonesia, Subekti (2018) also reported that motivation did not affect learners’ overall L2 achievement as measured by their final grades in English classes. It is possible to conclude that many factors influence the participants’ L2 speaking achievement. The quality of L2 instruction, individual language competence, class atmosphere and learning facilities are among the factors affecting learning behaviours (Tokan & Imakulata, 2019), leading to differing L2 achievement. In the case of the present study, learners’ degree of preparedness before the speaking test, test anxiety, and confidence may also play a part. In conclusion, the findings may serve as evidence that many factors interact in affecting learners’ eventual L2 achievement.
Conclusion
Several pedagogical implications can be outlined. In the case of learners from non-English departments, it might be beneficial to open their horizons to the potential uses of English for connecting with the international community and realizing professional merit from it. Such learners have selected their majors indicating a commitment to excelling in their respective fields. Hence, the teaching of English should be made more relevant to the anticipated future uses of English for securing their dream jobs and advance in their respective careers. For typical GE classes, incorporating activities such as job hunting and product presentations could broaden their perspective and link English with their disciplines, thus creating relevance. Furthermore, learners’ speaking achievement can be influenced by several immediate factors other than instrumental motivation. Hence, teachers need to consider several aspects of individual differences that could influence learning outcomes, optimising the supporting factors and minimising the debilitating factors.
The present study has at least two contributions. Asserting the generalizability of the results is challenging, considering the number of samples may not be sufficiently representative. However, the study provides an insightful overview of the level of instrumental motivation of Indonesian non-English department learners who were rather under-represented in the plethora of motivation literature, particularly within the Indonesian L2 context. Furthermore, the discovery of minimal impact of motivation on L2 achievement prompts future researchers to reconsider the assumption that motivation always leads to higher achievement. This insight could, to some degree, ‘demystify’ the concept of motivation as an established supporting factor of learning, opening up possibilities for further investigations in the motivation-L2 achievement operations.
Future relevant studies can be suggested. Investigating motivation using mixed-methods study employing survey, interview, and observations could enable researchers to see to what extent self-report motivation translates into actual motivated behaviours. Furthermore, by engaging a larger participant pool, studies can contemplate multiple possible factors of L2 speaking achievement in structural equation modelling.
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